Collaboration using Creative Cloud Libraries

Never work in isolation again! Collaborate using Creative Cloud Libraries by sharing your libraries with other Creative Cloud users. When you choose to share a Creative Cloud library, those you share the library with can perform a number of tasks on the assets in the library - view, use, edit, copy, move, rename, or delete assets.

For more information on this enhanced feature, see the section on Collaboration in the article Creative Cloud Libraries.

Creative Cloud Libraries

Creative Cloud Libraries panel

Got favorite colors, type styles or graphics? Now keep them close at hand - wherever and whenever you need them - using Creative Cloud Libraries. Creative Cloud Libraries help you collect your favorite components, organize them into logical libraries, access and view them, to reuse them across your documents and projects. All you have to do is drop colors, type styles, or graphics into the new Library panel (Window > Library) in Illustrator CC.

Across Illustrator projects. Whatever you save in a Library becomes available for use across Illustrator projects that you are working on.

On different computers. Libraries are synced to the Creative Cloud. Your Library becomes available on any computer that you are signed in on using your Creative Cloud ID.

Photoshop CC. Photoshop CC 2014 now has the Creative Cloud Libraries built in, too. Any Library you save from Illustrator automatically becomes available for use in Photoshop as well.

Apps. The new Brush CC, Shape CC, and Color CC apps enable you to save your designs to your Creative Cloud Libraries. This means that you can stay creative on-the-go using your mobile apps, while constantly building your design repositories.

Touch workspace

The new Touch workspace

The Touch workspace is designed for Windows 8 tablets, and exposes the most essential tools and controls that designers need to be creative on-the-go. Working on Illustrator with a tablet becomes a richer experience with the use of a pressure-sensitive pen and multi-touch gestures.

Also, use the new Stencils feature that host a collection of French curves. Use the outlines of these shapes as they are, or scale them and reposition them to create a variety of refined curves.

What's more - you can switch back to a traditional workspace at any point in time to leverage the full collection of Illustrator tools and features.

Curvature tool

Available in Touch and traditional workspaces

(left) A guitar.</br>
(Second from left to right) The overall image of the guitar was captured using the Shape CC app, and then quickly recreated using the new Curvature tool in Illustrator CC.

Create paths quickly and with visual foresight. Select the Curvature tool (Shift + ~), start with two basic points, and then watch a preview of the how the curve will look like if you were to drop another point at the current location of the cursor.

Don't want a curve? Instead of just dropping a point, press Option/Alt when you drop a point, to create a straight line from the previous point. If you have already created a smooth curve, double-click a point to toggle between a smooth curve and straight line.

Use this technique on any point, in any shape. Draw or edit - much faster than before!

Join tool

Available in Touch and traditional workspaces

You can now use the Join tool to easily fix paths that do not exactly intersect the way you want them to. Did the paths you draw fall short of intersecting? Or they did meet, but extended beyond the point of intersection? Select the Join tool, scrub across the points of the paths where you'd like them to intersect, and it's done! The paths join and truncate at the point of intersection - but without changing or modifying the trajectories of the original paths.

Area Type autosizing

Area Type frames now can expand and shrink to accommodate text that you fill into the type frame. You can convert to and from an autosizing or fixed size frame. When set to auto-size and grow automatically, you do not have to manage or bother about overset boxes.

Double-click the widget at the bottom of the Area Type frame to toggle the Area Type frame between an auto-sizing frame or a fixed-height frame. When you add, delete, or edit text, the frame resizes automatically.

Note:

The Area Type autosizing feature works only with rectangular-shaped frames that have only one row and column defined.

Live shapes

Rectangles and Rounded Rectangles

All rectangles and rounded rectangles have modifiable corners. While each corner can have and independent radius value, all attributes are retained even when you scale or rotate the rectangle. Rectangles and rounded rectangles now remember all modifications made, be it width, height, rotation, corner treatment. This capability means you can always return to the original shape of the object.

<b>(left)</b> The shape around the cassette spindles is a simple Live Rectangle
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<b>(center & right)</b> Use the Transform panel or the Live Corner widgets to reshape the Live Rectangle to a Live Rounded Rectangle

Pen tool preview & drawing enhancements

Pen tool preview

The Pen tool displays a preview of what the will be drawn on your artboard, before you click and drop the next point. This helps you visualize the next curve before you commit to the next point - this gives you much more control and saves you the time spent in drawing, reviewing, and then re-drawing paths that need to be re-done.

Anchor point enhancements

Fine adjustment of curves is now easier. Enhanced anchor point controls allow unequal or different-direction handles to be dragged as you draw to control the smoothness of each segment. You can even change a corner point to smooth without ruining your shape.

Snapping updates (point, pixel, grid)

When snapping is turned on, your anchor points and handles (direction lines) align to your choice of pixel, grid, or point. However, handles snapping to the grid restricts the freedom with which you draw. In the 2014 release of Illustrator CC, whatever you choose to snap to, handles are completely unrestricted. When handles are not subject to being snapped to a grid, you have much finer control over drawing and editing workflows.

Close paths with better control

A task such as precisely closing a path is an oft-repeated vector art workflow. In the 2014 release of Illustrator CC, you now have much better and precise control while connecting end and start points. With this enhancement you can reposition a closing point or choose to break the handles to adjust the closing curve exactly as per your requirement.

Video

Watch this brief introductory video about the enhancements to the Pen tool, anchor points, handles, and drawing behavior while using the Pen tool. Check this video link!

GPU Performance

(Windows-only)

The 2014 release of Illustrator CC can leverage the power of a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) on your computer. Windows 7 or 8 users that have a compatible NVIDIA graphics card can use the GPU Performance feature.

Typekit: Missing fonts workflow

Locally-available and Typekit-based fonts can easily be interspersed in Illustrator CC artwork. However, there may be occasions when you open an artwork file on different computer, and find a few fonts missing. In such a situation, any Text elements using unavailable fonts are highlighted in pink, and are rendered using a default font. From the 2014 release of Illustrator CC, the online Typekit desktop font library is automatically searched for the missing font. If the missing font is available online you have the option of syncing it to your current computer.

Welcome screen

The Welcome screen

The 2014 release of Illustrator CC has a new feature to help you discover, learn, use, and promote comprehensive use of features. The Welcome screen is a single location that displays content relevant to your subscription and use. The screen is displayed each time you start Illustrator, or when you click Help > Welcome. The Welcome screen displays Illustrator-related tutorials, videos, interactive games, Help content, and much more. A tab-based approach helps you find interesting content, be it on new features, getting started launch-boards, or nifty tips and techniques.

Note:

The Welcome screen feature is enabled for all US (en_US) and UK (en_GB) Illustrator CC 2014 users.

Text enhancements

The text engine in the 2014 release of Illustrator CC has been enhanced to make the experience of working with text and fonts in different languages more predictable. Also, new typographical notations have been added, and some existing ones have been updated.